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What happened at the Kyoto Imperial Palace on January 3, 1868?

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Bronze statue of samurai Saigo Takamori standing with his dog on a stone pedestal in Ueno Park, Tokyo, with yellow autumn trees in the background. — Saigō Takamori Saigo Takamori, statue in Tokyo.

On January 3, 1868, a coup d’état took place at the Kyoto Imperial Palace, marking the beginning of the Meiji Restoration.

Before dawn that day, troops under the command of the Satsuma samurai Saigō Takamori seized control of the palace gates. Following this, a council of notables was summoned, where the young Meiji emperor read an Imperial rescript that formally announced the ouster of the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and the restoration of direct imperial rule over Japan.123